D&D 5E The Realm of the D&D Cartoon Show as a 5e campaign model

[Dungeonosophy]

The DMG is reportedly going to include references to several D&D worlds. Why not include some mention of The Realm of the D&D Cartoon Show in the DMG? Even moreso than the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance (and the Mystara-based World of Izmir from the demented D&D film), this setting may be the D&D world more people have seen, if you count all the kids who watched the show.

During the 3e era, there was a small campaign guide with stats for the Kids, included in the DVD box.

So how about a 5e D&D Animated Series mini-game?

The unique twist of this setting is that the players play fictional versions of themselves.

The opening story is something like this: "After a session of gaming, the players go to a nearby fair or amusement park, where a new ride has appeared: the Dungeons & Dragons rollercoaster."

After being zapped into the Realm, they'd appear in some new outfit matching their chosen class and subclass. The DM would call the players by their class names.

Being fictional versions of themselves, the players would be free to assign the ability score array according to their whim. ("I didn't know my own strength!")

There'd be an Item of Power appropriate for each class (different from the Kid's items). There'd be a few options for Items for each class or subclass, in case more than one person picks the same class. (There might be "Thief" and "Other Thief".)

There'd be Venger and Tiamat.

The Dungeon Master plays himself/herself in-game, with the same red robes. The DM would be a different DM than the one who fathered Venger. Maybe we'd be Venger's uncle or aunt.

Some sort of annoyingly cute beast would attach itself to the party.

The game would include a map of the Realm. There'd also be a map showing the route of the Kids. Here's some amateur-made maps of the Realm:

http://www.oocities.org/tokyo/flats/1419/dmap.html

There'd be a description of all the places, with screenshots. Also a timeline of the Realm.

The setting would incorporate all the bits of lore from obscure sources such as the coloring books, the Fantasy Forest game (which featured the Kids as playing pieces), and the foreign editions.

After some introductory adventure, the party would (say, at 5th level) meet the Kids, and have the option of helping them escape from the Realm. It would be set soon after the last episode of the show, and would tie-in with the slated finale which was never produced. Here's a link to the final "Requiem" script. (That the Kids escaped is evident by their later appearance in the background of a Forgotten Realms comic book.)


There'd be a final adventure (say at 10th level) for the PCs escaping from the Realm themselves...with the option of moving on to adventures in other D&D Worlds.

All this would be in a single book or boxed set, as a one-off product.

It would round out that story from the 1980s, which so many kids witnessed, but which was left dangling.

Would any EnWorlders play this game?

 

[Boarstorm]

Not this one.

 

[Halivar]

I see nothing that this setting lacks that is necessary for a fun, engaging campaign. Actually referencing the events and protagonists of the cartoon is unnecessary; take the background places and people and fill in the blanks, and you have the makings of a fun game-world.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

Actually referencing the events and protagonists of the cartoon is unnecessary

Huh, now that you mention it, it might be just as well to let the PCs play through the episodes instead of the Kids.

In that case, the Kids' adventures would be only one of many parallel versions of the Realm.

 

[Shiroiken]

The unique twist of this setting is that the players play fictional versions of themselves.

Be VERY careful with this. I've done something like this before and it didn't end well (in fact, it never made it past the 1st session). If you do this, you must use Point Buy and I suggest not allowing them to know each others ability scores. The ego is a fragile thing, and having someone point out "there's no way your (ability) is that high" can cause some very hard feelings (even if made in jest).

 

[Greg K]

I think using the setting without the kids would be interesting. If including the kids, I would use another system like Cartoon Action Hour Season 3, FATE CORE, or CORTEX Plus.

 

[Ed_Laprade]

As Shiroiken says, one would have to be very careful about this. Players with physical disabilities might well find such a game insulting. In any case, I wouldn't care to play this either.

 

[Paraxis]

As Shiroiken says, one would have to be very careful about this. Players with physical disabilities might well find such a game insulting. In any case, I wouldn't care to play this either.

The OP mentions they are fantasy versions of themselves that will use the default array for ability scores, I don't see how people with physical disabilities would find it insulting. The DM can either work the disability in but find a magical workaround or the persons fantasy version of themselves might not be disabled, obviously let the player pick. Still be careful, the whole you play yourself in a fantasy rpg can be a very personal thing, when a PC dies for example.

I don't think WoTC would ever publish something like this, but sure sounds fun to play as a con game or a one shot to me.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

What Paraxis said. There'd be a note in the character creation section saying something like:

This is a fantastic version of yourself...not yourself. For this game, you are invited to make your "Cartoon Show self" as strong, healthy, nimble, witty, perceptive, and charismatic as you'd like. It's entirely up to your wish and whim. Have fun with it.

It's no one else's business how you assign the default array of ability scores. The ego is a fragile thing, and having someone point out "there's no way your (ability) is that high" can cause some very hard feelings, even if made in jest.

Bobby was just a little kid and he lifted a gigantic club. Even lifting that thing would be difficult for some 9-year old boy in real life. Likewise, Hank was a better shot than most high schoolers...even if he was a varsity jock. Sheila, even with an invisible cloak, was stealthier than would be expected of a typical highschooler. Granted, some of their ability could be attributed to their Item of Power, but their basic 'fantastic awesomeness' could just as well be attributed to their being a "larger than life" version of themselves.

There'd be sidebar suggesting that disabled (wheelchaired, blind, deaf) players choose whether to play a version of themself without a disability, or, if they want to represent their disability in-game, there'd be examples of magical devices which would be fitting to serve as in-game representations (kinda like Geordi's VISOR in Star Trek). That would be in addition to their Item of Power.

Still be careful, the whole you play yourself in a fantasy rpg can be a very personal thing, when a PC dies for example.

The game would use Dragonlance's "obscure death" rule for PCs. Dead PCs would come back near the beginning of the next play session, with some sort of far-out explanation of how they 'survived' or 'came back from the dead', and with XPs dropped to the beginning of their level. There's no escaping the Realm...even in death.

I don't think WoTC would ever publish something like this, but sure sounds fun to play as a con game or a one shot to me.

If WotC can publish the Book of Vile Darkness, they can make a game where players play themselves.

 

[Dungeonosophy]

P.S. I just found a great and thorough website: the D&D Cartoon Encyclopedia http://www.dungeonsdragonscartoon.com/

Two rough and schematic maps of the Realm made by TSR: http://www.dungeonsdragonscartoon.com/2012/11/sticker-books-maps.html

Plus, WotC's 3e stats for the Kids, their Magic Items, and Venger: http://natural-order-guild.com/content/kids-stats-and-gear-dd-cartoons

Another curious fact about the Realm: the AD&D action figure characters (such as Warduke and Strongheart) exist in, or have visited, the Realm. Yet they also exist in, or have visited, two other settings: 1) the Kingdom of Ghyr (the mini-setting of XL1, Quest for the Heartstone) and 2) the World of Greyhawk (as evinced by the 3e biography of Warduke, which says he fought in the Greyhawk Wars).

Since Ghyr is not explicitly tied to any world (though it used the BECMI rules), it is possible that the Kingdom of Ghyr is located in the Realm, but Ghyr also likely exists in Mystara too, since those characters appear in AC1, The Shady Dragon Inn (which is located in Darokin) and in GAZ4, The Kingdom of Ierendi. Amateur speculation has placed Ghyr in the wildlands north of the Known World.